Matthew 8:28-34
Spiritual Warfare ~ the power of the King
Would you open your Bibles to...
Matt. 8:28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.
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Matt. 8:33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
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Intro
√ Spiritual warfare
We return to this amazing account of a conflict between Jesus, the King, and Satan the Prince.
You’ll recall that we said this section provides us with a detailed look at spiritual warfare…
…the conflict between the kingdom of darkness and the
It provides us with “intel” on how our enemy wages war!
How demons operate
Their power over people
The limits of their power
How they respond to Jesus the King
Very important because there are volumes of misinformation, disinformation, and outright fanciful imagination regarding demons, their sphere of influence and power, and how Christians are to deal with them.
Ap. Let the Bible be your textbook
God’s Word alone speaks with authority on the subject of the spirit realm. Know it and practice it!
They know Him! (vs. 28-29a)
Matt. 8:28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.
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√ They know Him!
It’s fascinating that these demon-possessed men do not need to be introduced to Jesus!
They already know Him!
More accurately, the demons who have taken over these men know Jesus.
Notice that they don’t just know His Name, they know who He really is!
“What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God?”
That statement ought to grab your attention!
Remember, at this point in Jesus’ ministry even the disciples don’t really know who Jesus is!
They’re beginning to wonder – remember what they said amongst themselves after Jesus calmed the storm…
“Who can this be that even the wind and the waves obey Him?” ~ Matt. 8:27
But, Peter has not yet made his famous confession that Jesus is the Son of God…
…that’s still almost two years away!
Nor do the religious leaders know who Jesus really is, or for that matter, that He came from heaven!
So, the fact that the demons know Jesus provides us with great instruction on the topic of spiritual warfare…
…specifically, that the demons and Satan himself recognize the authority of the King therefore…
They fear Him
They obey Him
Ap. They know you too!
Before we move on let me just say that the demons know you too!
That is, because you’re a citizen of the King and have the Holy Spirit living within you…
…the demons know you and that you’re under the King’s protection.
Ex. The demon in
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A pointed illustration that without Jesus, people are unprotected from Satan and his minions…
…while knowing Jesus brings a person under the protective covering of the King!
They fear Him (vs. 29b)
Matt. 8:29b …Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
√ They fear Him!
Not only do the demons know who Jesus is, they also fear Him because of what He can do to them!
Matthew and Mark tell us that the demons cried..
“…Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
Luke adds that the demons…
“…begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.” ~ Luke 8:31
The point is that the demons recognized that Jesus had the authority to cast them out of the men and into the abyss…
…the bottomless pit (ref. Revelation).
To be held in chains and darkness until their final judgment
when they will be cast into the
So, the demons who had caused these men to become so fierce that no one would come near them…
…now whimper and beg before Jesus because they fear what He might do to them!
Ap. No contest
All too often I hear people speak of the devil and his
demons as if they were on some level a threat to the
This incident gives us a Biblical model to understand the power of the King vs. the power of the Prince…
…it’s no contest!
Jesus is the sovereign Master of the universe to whom every power bends its knee and surrenders its will!
The demons tremble at the mention of His Name!
They never get a good nights sleep as they know that their time is short and that He will one day soon cast them into eternal torment!
So, they fear Him!
They obey Him (vs. 30-32)
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√ They obey Him!
These verses give us a clear understanding on the limitations on the power of demons.
That is, they can’t do anything without the Lord’s permission!
They obey His every command!
Note that they can’t even move from the men into the pigs without Jesus’ permission…
“So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”
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The truth that we want to apprehend here is that demons, including Satan himself, operate at the Lord’s discretion!
They can’t do anything without His knowledge and are limited in their power and activity because they are subject to Jesus!
So, in the life of a Christian we can take comfort in the fact that when we come under attack from the enemy…
…Jesus has first approved it and already knows that the end result will be for our benefit and the devil’s demise!
Ex. Job and Peter
Job - Chapters 1 & 2 of Job give us the background information to understand the why and how of Job’s difficulties.
We discover that Satan had to ask permission of God to bring harm to Job’s family, his possessions, and to himself.
We also learn that what Satan meant for Job’s harm ultimately produced good ~ revealing that Job (and any of us) chose to love God because of Who He is, not because of the blessing he received from the Lord.
Peter – Satan had to ask for permission to test Peter…
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So, we understand that Satan and his demons can’t just attack us at whim…
…all their plots and plans must be submitted to the King for permission.
Additionally, we learn from Jesus that the best weapon we have against the devil and his demons is prayer!
Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
If I was Peter I would have said something like…
“Pray! How about toast the devil and send him packing!!”
Yet, the Lord doesn’t stop the devil, instead He allows the devil to hit Peter with his best shot!
Why!?
Because Jesus knew that what the devil meant for Peter’s harm would ultimately produce good in Peter’s life.
Note Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ comments…
Luke 22:33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”
Luke 22:34 Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”
Peter had a pride issue that had to be removed before he could be entrusted with the kind of power that Jesus had planned for him.
Peter had to come to the end of himself so that he would recognize that apart from Jesus he could…
…do nothing!
So, Jesus granted Satan permission to shift Peter because He knew that Satan’s worst would only produce good in Peter’s life.
Ap. You’re safe with Jesus
If you’re a Christian then you can rest in the assurance that when you’re under spiritual attack…
…it’s being monitored by Jesus and that nothing will come your way except that which Jesus has permitted for your own benefit!
So, the Bible tells us that demons obey Him and when we find ourselves in spiritual warfare our best weapon is prayer!
Some reject Him (vs. 33-34)
Matt. 8:33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
Matt. 8:34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.
√ They reject Him!
To me this is one of the saddest records in scripture! While the demons…
…begged Jesus not to send them away to the pit.
The people of the city…
…begged Jesus not to stay with them!
I wonder how they could be so blind as to reject Jesus after seeing the evidence of His great power to set men free from Satan?
The only conclusion I can draw from the text is that the people were more concerned with material wealth than with spiritual treasure.
That is, if as many believe, this city raised pork for the Gentile cities of the Decapolis…
…perhaps they feared that if Jesus stuck around that He would send the rest of their herds into the lake!
Ap. The greatest enemy of the Gospel
Isn’t poverty or persecution, it is prosperity!
The greatest revivals today are going on in countries, and amongst people who are poor.
Meanwhile in places like Europe and the United States we see revival tarry in part I believe because people want things more than they want Jesus.
Ex. The weekend after 9-11
Churches were stuffed because people were confronted with the reality that the material world is not permanent!
Within a month most of the crowds had gone back to the god Mammon…
…seeking to enrich themselves with the things of this world instead of being rich toward God.
Guard your heart against materialism!
Some serve Him (Mark 5:18-20)
Mar 5:18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.
Mar 5:19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."
Mar 5:20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
√ Some serve Him
I couldn’t leave us on a sour note with the town people begging Jesus to leave…
…so we’ll close with Mark’s testimony concerning the man formally possessed by demons.
Note vs. 18…
“And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.”
Seems like everyone is begging Jesus for something…
First it was the demons
Then it was the town folk
Now it’s Legion! (the artist formally known as Legion!)
He begs Jesus to allow him to join the disciples and follow the Lord.
But the Lord doesn’t allow him to for there was a greater work to do…
…to share his testimony with those who knew him and tell of the wonderful work which Jesus had done in his life that others might believe!
Note were the man goes, to the Decapolis (the 10 cities), to share his testimony with the Gentiles including those who just begged Jesus to leave!
So, as we saw in our study last week that Jesus was primarily called to the Jewish people…
…He crosses the Lake to reach one Gentile trapped by Satan and turns him lose to preach Jesus to the Gentiles!
Ap. Friend what’s your testimony?
The greatest tool you have for winning others to Jesus Christ is not…
Great apologetic knowledge
Oratory skills
Command of scripture
…it’s that one thing that people cannot argue against, the life changing power of the Gospel in our lives!
Don’t be ashamed of the great things that God has done in your life, share it with conviction, clarity, and compassion…
…and watch what God will then do in the lives of those you share with.
Friend, in which camp do you find yourself this morning? Are you begging Jesus to leave you alone, or begging Him to let you follow Him.
Who are you going to serve?
Close
√ Spiritual warfare
Satan and demons are real and have great power over people.
But, Jesus is the King over all and those who love Him have nothing to fear from demons because…
They know Him
They obey Him
They fear Him
So cheer up, the war is won and you’re on the winning side!